


I Want You Close

by kpkl10



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:02:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23488771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kpkl10/pseuds/kpkl10
Summary: Steve makes a spur of the moment confession.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 6
Kudos: 164





	I Want You Close

Steve couldn’t feel anything yet, but knew the pain would start flooding in soon enough. He wanted to sit up off the hard ground, though some voice in the back of his mind that sounded distinctly like Danny told him to stay lying down. The sky above him was a gray-blue, like a storm was rolling in. It took Steve a moment to realize that it was dust turning the sky gray, not clouds. He could just make out rubble not too far away.

A flash of blond filled the corner of Steve’s vision, soon followed by the rest of Danny’s face. Steve tilted his head to get a better look at him. Danny’s mouth moved, but Steve couldn’t hear him. His ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton. Steve stared up at him, relieved that Danny looked relatively unhurt aside from a scratch on his forehead and dirt coating his face. 

Danny, realizing that Steve couldn’t hear him, leaned further down and practically shouted, “You’re a fucking idiot.” 

Steve grinned at him. “But my plan worked,” he slurred. At the very least, his hearing was coming back now. The pain was starting to hit him though, spreading across his side. He wouldn’t be surprised if he’d broken a rib or two after getting thrown back by the blast after the bomb had detonated. 

Danny rolled his eyes. “I swear to god, Steven, just because a bad idea worked out doesn’t mean it’s a good idea now.” 

Steve managed to move, reaching up to pat Danny on the arm. Danny deflated, forehead almost touching Steve’s. He caught the scent of Danny’s cologne, barely discernible through the smoke. Steve guessed the full weight of the situation was hitting Danny, though Steve himself had yet to experience that feeling. 

It had already been precarious when Steve had found the bomb in the occupied hotel where their latest perp had last been spotted. It was a gamble, for sure, when Steve had grabbed the bomb and run down six flights of stairs, out the door, and into the abandoned warehouse across the street. He’d just barely gotten out when the bomb had gone off, throwing him to the ground. At some point, it’d catch up with him that he’d almost died. But not yet. 

Danny pulled away from Steve, and Steve had to resist the urge to grab onto him. “An ambulance is on the way,” Danny said. “Grover called it in.” 

Steve nodded, just that small motion making more pain blossom in his body. Everything felt too tightly wound up, ready to spring and make him tumble over the edge. “You’ll stay with me?” He hated how needy he sounded, but it wasn’t like he could help it. 

Danny, whose attention had been grabbed by something Steve couldn’t see, snapped his eyes back to Steve’s face. “Yeah, sure, babe. As long as you don’t complain the whole way to the hospital.” 

“Me? Complain? That’s more a you thing.” 

Danny lightly slapped Steve’s arm, then laid his hand over the spot as if in apology. “Shut up. Injured patients don’t get to speak.” 

Steve huffed out a laugh that tapered off quickly. He reached one hand across his chest to grab Danny’s hand. His entire side felt like it was on fire. He was sure now that he’d broken something. He was never going to hear the end of it from Danny. 

“Steve?” 

Steve turned his head and looked up at Danny. His face was etched with worry, something that never failed to strike a nerve in Steve. As reckless as he was, he hated being the reason for Danny’s concern. Which happened quite a lot. 

“Don’t ever do that again,” Danny said quietly. 

Steve paused before saying, “I’ll try.” He glanced away from Danny’s face for a second before looking back again. “I’m sorry.” 

Danny froze for a second. Then his eyebrows pulled down, a familiar frown forming on his face. “Did you hit your head or something? If you have a concussion—” 

“My head is fine. Probably.” Steve shifted on the ground, winced when it made everything hurt worse. “I just… feel bad for making you worry.” 

Danny’s shoulders slumped. His face softened and he moved his hand out of Steve’s grip to wipe at Steve’s face. His touch was warmer than the sun beating down on them. “It’s okay. You’ll make it up to me by buying me dinner.” 

Even though Steve knew Danny meant it as a joke, he still said, “Sure. As soon as I get out of the hospital.” 

“Probably won’t take long, knowing you. You’ll be annoying your way out of the hospital before you’re even close to healed.” 

“Did you just use ‘annoying’ as a verb?” 

Danny opted to ignore him. “There’s a paramedic coming over here now.” 

Steve, who’d been doing just fine until now, felt a sudden wave of panic hit him. He’d done a stupid, reckless thing and like always it had worked out. But what about the day when it didn’t? He needed to say something, even if it fucked things up between him and Danny. 

“Danny,” he said, gripping Danny’s sleeve. “I love you.” 

“I love you, too, babe,” Danny replied automatically, not even looking at Steve. 

“No, you don’t understand. I _love_ you.” 

Danny finally turned his head toward Steve, realization dawning on his face. He didn’t have time to respond before a paramedic rushed up, immediately checking Steve over. Danny stood up, backing away a couple steps to give the paramedic room. His hands were limp at his sides, and Steve could tell he was processing what he’d just been told. 

Neither of them spoke to each other as Steve was hauled into the back of an ambulance and carted to the hospital. Danny, true to his word, rode in the ambulance with Steve, but stared down at the floor the entire time. Steve felt the silence more sharply than any of his physical injuries. 

Once they got to the hospital, things became a blur. Danny was left in the waiting room while Steve was taken to be checked up. A doctor and nurses poked and prodded him, asking questions that Steve could only give one-word answers to. Once the examination was all said and done, and Steve was bandaged up, he was let go. 

The waiting room of the hospital was relatively busy, and for a moment Steve thought that Danny was gone since he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. But then he spotted Danny curled up in a chair, half asleep. Steve felt his stomach drop, not wanting to address the fact that he’d proclaimed his love for Danny during a fit of panic. 

Danny stirred, sitting up straighter. He saw Steve on the other side of the room and stood up. At some point, the cut on his forehead had been bandaged over. Steve forced his feet to move towards Danny. 

“Hey,” Danny said as he stood up, looking as exhausted as Steve felt. “What’s the prognosis?” 

“Nothing serious,” Steve replied, trying to keep his voice steady. “Worst is a couple of broken ribs. Doctor said to take it easy for a few weeks.” 

“Which you won’t do.” 

Steve blew air out through his nose. “Probably not.” 

Danny nodded, not arguing with him about it, which made Steve even more worried. “Come on, let’s go. Junior dropped my car off earlier.” 

Steve followed Danny outside, his stomach still in knots. He felt the cold shoulder Danny was giving him as acutely as everything else. They got into Danny’s car, and Danny started to drive Steve home. It was utterly silent between them, the air filled with an undeniable tension. 

“Danny,” Steve started, “about what I said earlier--” 

“Don’t,” Danny interrupted, eyes trained on the road. “I can’t-- I don’t want to talk about that right now.” 

Steve stared at his profile, reading the strain on Danny’s face. He had a lot that he wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut. He turned his body to look out the passenger side window so that he wouldn’t be tempted to keep looking at Danny. Fire ran up his side, the painkillers that he’d been given at the hospital not doing a great job at actually killing the pain. 

It was quiet the rest of the ride. Danny didn’t even say anything as he parked in Steve’s driveway. Steve didn’t move to get out of the car, though. He would wait here until Danny spoke or kicked him out. 

“I…” Danny began, breaking their silence. He wasn’t looking at Steve, instead staring out at the hood of his car. “How long?” 

Steve clenched his jaw. He’d never felt this nervous before, afraid that he was about to lose his best friend. “Basically since we first met. It sounds stupid, but the moment you punched me in the face was the moment that I knew I wanted you to stick around.” 

Danny finally met his gaze, his brow furrowed. “You’re serious? All because I punched you?” 

Steve nodded stiffly. “No one had ever stood up to me like that before. It was… I liked it.” He propped his elbow up on the window frame and put his head in his hand. “I like that you’re never afraid to put me in my place when I get out of line. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but you keep me grounded.” 

Danny snorted in amusement, and Steve couldn’t help the brief smile that crossed his lips. He heard Danny shift in his seat. Steve lifted his head to glance over, seeing that Danny was turned towards him, the side of his face illuminated by the setting sun. 

“You’re the least grounded person I know, Steven,” Danny said. “I don’t even know what goes through your head half the time you do something stupid. And you’re telling me that you’d be worse if I wasn’t around?” 

“Definitely.” 

Danny paused, then shook his head. “You’re ridiculous.” 

Steve picked at a loose thread on his shirt and said, “Look, I know I dropped my… feelings for you out of the blue. I get it if you’re upset with me. I get it if you don’t feel the same way. Just, please, don’t let this ruin our friendship.” 

Danny took a long, slow breath. “I’m not upset. Not anymore, at least. It’s just a lot to take in.” 

“I know.” 

“Why didn’t you ever tell me earlier? We’ve known each other for years.” 

Steve opened and closed his mouth. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve been in denial of it for a long time. I convinced myself that Catherine was who I wanted to be with, and then when that didn’t work I had to reevaluate everything. And when I did, I realized that it was always you that I was happiest with. It was you that I… that I was in love with. But you’re my best friend, and I didn’t want to mess that up.” 

Danny rubbed his forehead. He was quiet for a long time. Then, without saying anything, he got out of the car. Steve watched him close the door and take a few steps away, hands on his hips. Danny seemed to be looking out at the small patch of ocean visible behind the house. Steve hesitated before getting out of the car, too, holding onto his aching side. 

“You know,” Danny said as Steve approached him, though he hadn’t turned around yet, “all these years, I’ve watched you go out with different women. So I went out with different women, too. Because why the hell would Steve McGarrett ever think of me as more than a friend? But it turn out that we’re both fucking idiots.” 

Steve stopped in his tracks, standing almost right behind Danny. “What are you trying to say, Danny?” He didn’t want to be hopeful, couldn’t be hopeful. 

“It’s—” Danny sighed, more frustration than anything. He finally faced Steve, a pained expression on his face. “I’ve been in love with you for years, too. But you were with Catherine, and you were going to propose to her. Then when you two broke up, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything because you were so heartbroken. And then I just kept thinking up excuses to never say anything. I tried to convince myself that I didn’t feel these things for you. I thought, I’d ruin everything if I told you I love you.” 

“Say that again,” Steve blurted out, surprised at how rough his voice sounded. It felt like the world had shifted under his feet at Danny’s confession. Yet he still wanted more confirmation because it didn’t feel like enough. 

“What?” 

“Tell me you love me.” 

Danny grew quiet. He drew a hand across his face, now thrown into shadow by the fading light. Finally, he said, his voice breaking a little, “I love you, Steve.” 

Steve surged forward, hand going to the nape of Danny’s neck and pulling him close. Danny grabbed a fistful of Steve’s shirt as their lips met. Steve had waited years for this moment, never believing that it would happen. All the emotion that had built up between them found its way into the kiss, making Steve’s whole body burn. He never wanted to let go, not now that he finally had Danny in his arms. 

When Danny pulled away, Steve found it hard to breathe for more than one reason. Danny reached up, brushing his knuckles across Steve’s face. Steve grabbed his wrist and placed a gentle kiss to the palm of his hand. 

“So now what?” Danny asked, not taking his eyes off Steve. “Where do we go from here?” 

Steve thought about it. They’d known each other so long that it was hard to know how slow to take it all. But he knew one thing. “I’ll go wherever you go.” 

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/kpkl10)   
> [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/unfolded_pages_/)


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